I shut down my bakery in September and haven’t done a ton of baking since then, as our oven was massively on the fritz (anywhere from 20-100 degrees out at any given time!)
Well, we finally got a new oven so I’m making up for lost time. Yesterday’s bakes were:
And last but not least, I was digging through the cupboards and found so many little bags of random stuff, that I made some Kitchen Sink cookies. I used my regular chocolate chip cookie recipe but replaced the chocolate with a mix of mini chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, flaked coconut, peanuts, dried cranberries, pretzel pieces, and mini chocolate caramels. I was so happy to get rid of so many odds and ends, and they are delicious!
I salted the tops of a few with Maldon salt flakes, but I prefer them without.
Can I come over? I haven’t had a good scone since @Edel showed us how to bake them on our visit to Ireland. I don’t have her magic touch, but yours look scrumdiddlyumptious! Yum!
Also…
If you wanna talk about it, we’re all here for you
Ooooh, those look super delicious! Must have been frustrating to have a malfunctioning oven, especially for a pro baker like you. A brand new oven must be pretty exciting!
If you have scone recipes or tips, I’d be interested. I’m planning to make some scones for a bake sale in April, but I’m a little nervous about it. Have never made any before.
@Magpie I can always spend too long discussing the many, many things that led to the decision, haha.
Long story not-so-short, I started Crumbs in early 2020 (two months prior to Covid hitting my town! I weathered that summer with Cookiegram deliveries), had a spot at the local Country Market, did wholesale deliveries, and took custom orders. It was a great stretch of time.
I had my daughter in 2021, and admittedly found it hard to have a healthy work/life balance. Cue 2024, both of my parents were diagnosed with cancer, and we ended up in a legal battle with another family member. Life was chaos for a number of months.
Then in Spring 2025, an old friend/coworker reached out asking me if I had access to salary guides that I receive annually from a design association I’m a part of. The firm he now works at was looking for a senior graphic designer, and he assumed I wouldn’t be interested because of running my own business, but told me I would be his top pick if he could choose. After a number of conversations, weighing pros and cons, going in to meet the team and having the boss tell me “if you want the job, I’m taking the listing down right now”… it felt like the universe was telling me it was time to simplify my life. I do miss baking every day, but love closing my laptop at 5 and having my evenings and weekends to myself and my fam jam!
That’s the Coles Notes version; I know it was the right choice but sometimes it’s still hard not being my own boss.
@endymion for a relatively easy scone recipe, check out America’s Test Kitchen cream scones. The majority of the fat comes from cream instead of butter, so it’s a little more forgiving. If you are using a recipe calling for butter, freeze it first and grate it with a box grater, then work it in with your hands – I find it so much easier than a pastry cutter, and keeps it nice and cold!
